Workplace slip,trip and fall injuries and obesity

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between slip, trip and fall injuries and obesity in a population of workers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. INL is an applied engineering facility dedicated to supporting the US Department of Energy's mission. An analysis was performed on injuries reported to the INL Medical Clinic to determine whether obesity was related to an increase in slip, trip and fall injuries. Records were analysed that spanned a 6-year period (2005–2010), and included 8581 employees (mean age, 47 ± 11 years and body mass index [BMI], 29 ± 5 kg/m²; 34% obesity rate). Of the 189 people who reported slip, trip and fall injuries (mean age, 48 ± 11 years), 51% were obese (P < 0.001 compared with uninjured employees), and their mean BMI was 31 ± 6 kg/m² (P < 0.001). Obesity in this population was associated with a greater rate of slip, trip and fall injuries.     

Slip, trip and fall accidents: relationship to building features and use of coroners' reports in ascribing cause

Coroners' reports of 1035 deaths possibly related to building features were examined to assess their usefulness in identifying the cause of slip, trip and fall (STF) fatalities. Of the total, falls accounted for over 80%. Of the STF deaths, 61.4% related to falls on stairs, 6.7% to falls from steps or ladders, and 5.5% to falls from windows or roofs. About 60% of total fall fatalities involved infirm persons; alcohol was involved in 60% of the falls in the under-50 age group. Information in coroners' reports is generally insufficient to link building features to injuries; better approaches to data collection are required.     

Evaluation of a comprehensive slip, trip and fall prevention programme for hospital employees

In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries from slips, trips and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE), which was 75% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.2 per 10,000 FTEs). The objectives of this 10-year (1996-2005) longitudinal study were to: 1) describe occupational STF injury events in hospitals; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive programme for reducing STF incidents among hospital employees. The comprehensive prevention programme included analysis of injury records to identify common causes of STFs, on-site hazard assessments, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, introduction of STF preventive products and procedures, general awareness campaigns, programmes for external ice and snow removal, flooring changes and slip-resistant footwear for certain employee subgroups. The hospitals' total STF workers' compensation claims rate declined by 58% from the pre-intervention (1996-1999) rate of 1.66 claims per 100 FTE to the post-intervention (2003-2005) time period rate of 0.76 claims per 100 FTE (adjusted rate ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.54). STFs due to liquid contamination (water, fluid, slippery, greasy and slick spots) were the most common cause (24%) of STF claims for the entire study period 1996-2005. Food services, transport/emergency medical service and housekeeping staff were at highest risk of a STF claim in the hospital environment. Nursing and office administrative staff generated the largest numbers of STF claims. STF injury events in hospitals have a myriad of causes and the work conditions in hospitals are diverse. This research provides evidence that implementation of a broad-scale prevention programme can significantly reduce STF injury claims.     

Identification of risk factors and countermeasures for slip, trip and fall accidents during the delivery of mail

Risk factors for slip, trip and fall accidents (STFA) during the delivery of mail were identified using a range of accident-centred and accident-independent methods. Key factors included slippery underfoot conditions, non-weather related environmental hazards (e.g., uneven paving, steps, inadequate lighting), poor slip resistance from footwear, unsafe working practices, management safety practices, and underlying organisational influences. Intervention measures were recommended that target STFA risks at three levels: slip resistance, exposure to hazardous conditions, and employee behaviour in the face of hazardous conditions. The use of a participative approach to intervention selection and design enabled allowance for the organisational context to be made.     

From open source to open content: Organization, licensing and decision processes in open cultural production

The organization of talent in online communities has been pivotal for the development of open source software. We are currently witnessing a related phenomenon that is at least of equal importance: the ‘open-sourcing’ of digital content through a dramatic increase in user-generated content and the development of appropriate licenses for users to share their works and build on each other's creativity. This article compares and contrasts (a) the objectives of software development vis-à-vis the development of new media content, (b) the organizational forms that have developed in respective online communities, and (c) the role that licensing plays in the production of ‘functional’ vis-à-vis ‘cultural’ goods.     

Interpersonal violations,speeding violations and their relation to accident involvement in Finland

The aim of the present study was to replicate the distinction between errors, lapses and violations, and to identify aggressive violations from normal or highway code violations. Furthermore, the relationship of these behaviours with road traffic accidents was examined. A total number of 1126 Finnish drivers completed a questionnaire containing the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) with extended violations scale, and questions regarding background information, such as age, gender and mileage. Also, questions about previous accidents and fines were asked. Factor analysis showed that a four-factor structure seemed more appropriate than the earlier established three-factor structure. The four factors were errors, lapses, speeding violations and interpersonal violations. The two types of violations result from different motives, and seem to be associated with different kinds of affect. Both interpersonal and speeding violations were reported most by young males, which was consistent with earlier findings. Logistic regression analyses indicated that errors predicted active accident involvement after partialling out the effects of demographic variables, whereas interpersonal violations were positively related to involvement in passive accidents. This was presumably due to different reporting tendencies of respondents. Speeding tickets were predicted by speeding and interpersonal violations and lapses and penalties for speeding by both kinds of violations and errors. Penalties for speeding, parking and other offences were predicted by interpersonal violations. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Interpersonal violations,speeding violations and their relation to accident involvement in Finland

The aim of the present study was to replicate the distinction between errors, lapses and violations, and to identify aggressive violations from normal or highway code violations. Furthermore, the relationship of these behaviours with road traffic accidents was examined. A total number of 1126 Finnish drivers completed a questionnaire containing the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) with extended violations scale, and questions regarding background information, such as age, gender and mileage. Also, questions about previous accidents and fines were asked. Factor analysis showed that a four-factor structure seemed more appropriate than the earlier established three-factor structure. The four factors were errors, lapses, speeding violations and interpersonal violations. The two types of violations result from different motives, and seem to be associated with different kinds of affect. Both interpersonal and speeding violations were reported most by young males, which was consistent with earlier findings. Logistic regression analyses indicated that errors predicted active accident involvement after partialling out the effects of demographic variables, whereas interpersonal violations were positively related to involvement in passive accidents. This was presumably due to different reporting tendencies of respondents. Speeding tickets were predicted by speeding and interpersonal violations and lapses and penalties for speeding by both kinds of violations and errors. Penalties for speeding, parking and other offences were predicted by interpersonal violations. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Studying the co-evolution of production and test code in open source and industrial developer test processes through repository mining

Many software production processes advocate rigorous development testing alongside functional code writing, which implies that both test code and production code should co-evolve. To gain insight in the nature of this co-evolution, this paper proposes three views (realized by a tool called TeMo) that combine information from a software project’s versioning system, the size of the various artifacts and the test coverage reports. We validate these views against two open source and one industrial software project and evaluate our results both with the help of log messages, code inspections and the original developers of the software system. With these views we could recognize different co-evolution scenarios (i.e., synchronous and phased) and make relevant observations for both developers as well as test engineers.     

Free/libre open source software implementation in schools: Evidence from the field and implications for the future

This empirical paper shows how free/libre open source software (FLOSS) contributes to mutual and collaborative learning in an educational environment. Unlike proprietary software, FLOSS allows extensive customisation of software to support the needs of local users better. This also allows users to participate more proactively in the development and implementation process of a FLOSS-based system. In this paper, we observes how implementing FLOSS in an Italian high school challenges the conventional relationship between end users themselves (e.g. teachers and students) and that between users and developers. The findings will shed some light on the social aspects of FLOSS-based computerization – including the role of FLOSS in social and organizational change in educational environments and the ways that the social organization of FLOSS are influenced by social forces and social practices.     

Algorithms for leak detection, estimation, isolation and localization in open water channels

In this paper, a methodology for leak detection and isolation in open water channels is proposed. It consists of on-line leak detection and off-line leak isolation, estimation and localization. The on-line leak detection is carried out pool by pool using local information only, and a comparison between three leak detection methods in terms of detection performance and ease of implementation is presented. Information from neighboring pools is used to distinguish the effect of a leak from sensor faults. The proposed methods were tested on real experimental data from the Coleambally Channel no. 6 in Australia and showed good performance.     

Sensitivity results in open, closed and mixed product form queueing networks

General formulas are proposed to quantify the effects of changing the model parameters in the so-called BCMP network [F. Baskett et al., J. ACM 22 (2) (April 1975) 248–260]. These formulas relate the derivative of the expectation of any function of both the state and the paramaters of the network with respect to any model parameter (i.e., arrival rate, mean service demand, service rate, visit ratio, traffic intensity) to known functions of the state variables. Applications of our results to sensitivity analysis and optimization problems are given.     

Reproducible research in computational economics: guidelines,integrated approaches,and open source software

Traditionally, computer and software applications have been used by economists to off-load otherwise complex or tedious tasks onto technology, freeing up time and intellect to address other, intellectually more rewarding, aspects of research. On the negative side, this increasing dependence on computers has resulted in research that has become increasingly difficult to replicate. In this paper, we propose some basic standards to improve the production and reporting of computational results in economics for the purpose of accuracy and reproducibility. In particular, we make recommendations on four aspects of the process: computational practice, published reporting, supporting documentation, and visualization. Also, we reflect on current developments in the practice of computing and visualization, such as integrated dynamic electronic documents, distributed computing systems, open source software, and their potential usefulness in making computational and empirical research in economics more easily reproducible.      

Effort, co-operation and co-ordination in an open source software project: GNOME

Abstract This paper presents results from research into open source projects from a software engineering perspective. The research methodology employed relies on public data retrieved from the CVS repository of the GNOME project and relevant discussion groups. This methodology is described, and results concerning the special characteristics of open source software development are given. These data are used for a first approach to estimating the total effort to be expended.     

Resource management for multimedia applications,distributed in open and heterogeneous home networks

The home network is an open, heterogeneous and distributed environment with quality of service requirement. Existing resource reservation strategies modify devices and applications and do not consider heterogeneity.This paper presents a non-intrusive and adaptable resource management framework, developed upon an architecture customized for the actual devices. It uses global components, delegating to local components the management of local resources. These components rely on the resource reservation mechanisms provided by Linux.The framework has been implemented on real devices. The evaluations show that reservations are guaranteed even with noise on the resources, which also guarantees the expected quality of service.     

Data center network architecture in cloud computing： review,taxonomy, and open research issues＊

The data center network （DCN）, which is an important component of data centers, consists of a large number of hosted servers and switches connected with high speed communication links. A DCN enables thc deployment of resources centralization and on-demand access of the information and services of data centers to users. In recent years, the scale of the DCN has constantly increased with the widespread use of cloud-based services and the unprecedented amount of data delivery in/between data centers, whereas the traditional DCN architecture lacks aggregate bandwidth, scalability, and cost effectiveness for coping with the increasing demands of tenants in accessing the services of cloud data centers. Therefore, the design of a novel DCN architecture with the features of scalability, low cost, robustness, and energy conservation is required. This paper reviews the recent research findings and technologies of DCN architectures to identify the issues in the existing DCN architectures for cloud computing. We develop a taxonomy for the classification of the current DCN architectures, and also qualitatively analyze the traditional and contemporary DCN architectures. Moreover, the DCN architectures are compared on the basis of the significant characteristics, such as bandwidth, fault tolerance, scalability, overhead, and deployment cost. Finally, we put forward open research issues in the deployment of scalable, low-cost, robust, and energy-efficient DCN architecture, for data centers in computational clouds.     

Planning,scheduling and dispatching tasks in production control

"What is the difference between planning and scheduling?" Production control encompasses many tasks performed by humans, three of which are planning, scheduling, and dispatching. In the past, the only criterion that could distinguish between the tasks was that planning is usually on a higher level than scheduling and scheduling is on a higher level than dispatching. Hence, the tasks are often ambiguous, unclear, and subject to speculation. There are few formal studies on the actual tasks of planning, scheduling, and dispatching, and there are no known studies that compare or discuss all three. In this paper it is argued that it is important to understand the differences between the tasks. An action science and ethnographic case study is presented as the empirical basis for the discussion, and the implications for decision support systems in production control tasks are presented.     

Module production, centrality, and M&A in the keiretsu of Mazda

Relationship analysis is one of the most interesting issues in interorganizational management. The relationships between an auto maker and parts suppliers in the keiretsu of Japan, as one special case, have recently been greatly changed due to the diffusion of module production. Parts suppliers are required to develop their capacity for research and development (R&D) and parts integration to cope with the new situation. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are carried out by these parts makers. In order to measure the transactional relationship between centrality and module production, we reviewed the literature of module production and interorganizational research from the viewpoint of networks, and measured the eigenvector, one of the centrality indices, of the transaction network in the keiretsu of Mazda using the two fiscal years of 1995 and 2005. We analyzed the changes in interorganizational relationships between the years 1995 and 2005, and identified the relationship between centrality and the module system. Furthermore, we discussed the implications of our new findings about the transaction network in Mazda.     

Forest carbon densities and uncertainties from Lidar, QuickBird, and field measurements in California

Greenhouse gas inventories and emissions reduction programs require robust methods to quantify carbon sequestration in forests. We compare forest carbon estimates from Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) data and QuickBird high-resolution satellite images, calibrated and validated by field measurements of individual trees. We conducted the tests at two sites in California: (1) 59 km² of secondary and old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forest (Garcia-Mailliard area) and (2) 58 km² of old-growth Sierra Nevada forest (North Yuba area). Regression of aboveground live tree carbon density, calculated from field measurements, against Lidar height metrics and against QuickBird-derived tree crown diameter generated equations of carbon density as a function of the remote sensing parameters. Employing Monte Carlo methods, we quantified uncertainties of forest carbon estimates from uncertainties in field measurements, remote sensing accuracy, biomass regression equations, and spatial autocorrelation. Validation of QuickBird crown diameters against field measurements of the same trees showed significant correlation (r = 0.82, P < 0.05). Comparison of stand-level Lidar height metrics with field-derived Lorey's mean height showed significant correlation (Garcia-Mailliard r = 0.94, P < 0.0001; North Yuba R = 0.89, P < 0.0001). Field measurements of five aboveground carbon pools (live trees, dead trees, shrubs, coarse woody debris, and litter) yielded aboveground carbon densities (mean ± standard error without Monte Carlo) as high as 320 ± 35 Mg ha^− 1 (old-growth coast redwood) and 510 ± 120 Mg ha^− 1 (red fir [Abies magnifica] forest), as great or greater than tropical rainforest. Lidar and QuickBird detected aboveground carbon in live trees, 70-97% of the total. Large sample sizes in the Monte Carlo analyses of remote sensing data generated low estimates of uncertainty. Lidar showed lower uncertainty and higher accuracy than QuickBird, due to high correlation of biomass to height and undercounting of trees by the crown detection algorithm. Lidar achieved uncertainties of < 1%, providing estimates of aboveground live tree carbon density (mean ± 95% confidence interval with Monte Carlo) of 82 ± 0.7 Mg ha^− 1 in Garcia-Mailliard and 140 ± 0.9 Mg ha^− 1 in North Yuba. The method that we tested, combining field measurements, Lidar, and Monte Carlo, can produce robust wall-to-wall spatial data on forest carbon.